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04 Mar 2015 8:15:42am

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You can't change the password of a document once published. You'd have to delete all copies of it on all computers & storage everywhere in the world where it has been downloaded. (In geek speak Lucas can't change existing copies of star wars that show OMG HAN SHOT FIRST!) -- yes, I'm sorry.

This lack of understanding appears to be David Leigh's error.Perhaps WL should have re-encrypted DL's copy with a David Leigh only password so if he messed up big it had no other repercussions. But they trusted him with the whole archive itself so additional password security might not have been the uppermost thing in mind. Plus wikileaks staff would have been under immense pressure at the time of the release of Iraq & Afghanistan war logs with constant death threats and so on. It clearly is less than ideal operational security - as is now obvious.

I'm trying to think of an excuse for David Leigh but haven't succeeded yet. Just massively ignorant, got bitten by something he didn't know he didn't know and too arrogant to ask especially given he'd bullied wikileaks for early release of the cables which they wanted to delay further in case of additional repercussions on Manning who might be their source?Or is he actually malicious? Dunno.

I can't think of an explanation that doesn't make Leigh about the most odious journalist I've ever heard of.